MARIA GIOVANNETTI SPOTLIGHT2-21-03
Many high school phenoms have been humbled once they step on to a college campus. Whether it's calculus or physics or basketball, freshmen often find that what seemed to work in high school just doesn't cut it at the next level. The success of that student or athlete depends on the adjustments he or she makes, as well as the time and effort invested into improving the weaknesses exposed by the tougher competition. Case in point: sophomore forward Maria Giovannetti (Richmond, Va./St. Gertrude's), whose transition from high school star to bench warmer to contributor culminated in a 20-point explosion that allowed the Rams to upset Old Dominion earlier this season.
In high school, Giovannetti was a very big fish in a very small pond. Playing for tiny St. Gertrude's, Giovannetti was named all-state three times, was Virginia's private school player of the year as a senior and became the first private school player ever to be selected to the Richmond Times-Dispatch all-metro first team. Giovannetti led St. Gertrude's all the way to the Virginia Independent Schools championship game and finished her career with 1,588 points. Although some college coaches questioned the quality of the opponents Giovannetti faced in putting up such impressive numbers, VCU's coaching staff was confident her skills as a shooter and scorer would transfer to the Division I level.
The transition to college basketball wasn't as smooth as Giovannetti would have liked. The team's more experience players were getting the bulk of the playing time, and when Giovannetti got into games she did little to prove she deserved a permanent spot in the rotation. She finished the season with 24 total points in 100 minutes over 19 games, not exactly what she envisioned for her freshman year coming out of high school.
"It was hard, coming from high school where I played every minute of every game to college where I'm playing against the best players in the country," Giovannetti said. "We had players like Rochelle [Luckett] and ShaVohn [McKinnon] who were seniors and Cyndy Wilks, who was playing well, so I didn't play as much as I would've liked. It was frustrating at times, and I struggled with my confidence last year and part of this year. But I knew if I was given the opportunity I could hang with anyone."
Giovannetti paid the price in the offseason, staying on campus through the summer and working out every day to get stronger and regain the confidence she had as a prep star. She earned her first collegiate start in the third game of her sophomore season against George Washington and played 35 minutes, over a third of her first-year total. Although her playing time increased, Giovannetti wasn't filling the baskets anywhere near the rate she or the coaching staff expected, scoring 20 points in nine non-conference games in which she averaged over 15 minutes per game. An adjustment in her approach to the game was necessary, or her detractors that said she couldn't make it in Division I would be correct.
"You can spend hours in the gym and shoot 1,000 times a day but sometimes in games it's just not going to go in for you," she said. "I realized that there are other things I can do, the hustle points like creating shots for teammates, getting rebounds and steals and playing good defense. That can be bigger than scoring points. It can get you going offensively too."
The prolific, sweet-shooting scorer became a scrappy, blue-collar worker bee, turning around her season -- and her collegiate career. The so-called "hustle points" served Giovannetti well, earning her a starting spot at the start of the CAA schedule and building up her confidence as a contributor, and eventually as a scorer again. In 14 conference games, she has reached double figures in points six times while averaging 8.8 points per game. Also, she has grabbed at least four rebounds 12 times, and dished out at least three assists seven times while swiping 26 steals.
"[Starting] means all the hard work from last year and the summer has paid off," she said. "It feels great to have a role on the team and to be counted on for each game."
With Wilks and leading scorer and CAA player of the year candidate Kristine Austgulen carrying almost all of the scoring load the first half of the season, Giovannetti knows her role on the team is to give the Rams another offensive option. Although she feels she has always had the ability to score, Giovannetti admits it's her confidence that has allowed her to embrace that role and become a solid offensive player in college.
"When I get the ball now I don't think twice about shooting or driving to the basket," she said. "The biggest difference [between this year and last year] is I'm not afraid to take risks. I'm definitely looking more to shoot and be more of a threat offensively."
Everything seemed to come together for Giovannetti and the Rams when VCU defeated CAA power Old Dominion 67-56 earlier this month, ending the Lady Monarchs' 35-game CAA winning streak. Giovannetti scored a career-high 20 points and added seven rebounds and three assists in support of Austgulen and Wilks, who combined for 38 points. "Everyone knew we'd have to perform our best and even get career highs, to beat ODU," she said. "They are always at the top of our league, and it's a great example of how hard we work as a group and as individuals. It shows we can knock off a top opponent if we play at our best.
"[Before the ODU game] I realized that if I don't get my 10 points or so, we can't win, so it's a perfect example of the fact that everyone needs to pull their own weight."
Playing college basketball just a 15-minute drive away from where she grew up required a bit of an adjustment, too, but she's happy to be at VCU. "I love it," she said. "At first I wanted to get away from home and go away to college, but once I got here it's like I'm in a different world. I like the atmosphere at VCU and I don't go home much. But it's great having my parents, grandparents, sisters and my brother at every game, home and away."